I was lucky to be introduced to Jasmina, the owner of Chops Grill, in my early days with TCN. That is something I am grateful for to this day. Not only is Chops one of Split’s best restaurants, maintaining quality and culinary consistency year-round, but Jasmina and I have built a wonderful relationship over the years – and she continues to inspire me season after season.
Chops Grill is not your typical Split restaurant, but a superb steakhouse that rewards guests with the best cuts of meat, American influences, and, of course, a Dalmatian touch. Jasmina and Chops also know no season and are applauded for working tirelessly year-round, adapting their offer depending on the time of year, from unique 3-course menus to on-the-go breakfast sandwiches.
But what motivates Jasmina, Chops, and sister cafe bar Paradiso to bring the best to guests even in the winter?
Croatia and Split had booming year-round tourism in the 1980s until the outbreak of the Homeland War, but now the Dalmatian coast sleeps through the winter. Why do you think that is?
First of all, I think we were a more affordable destination at that time. I know this because when I worked for Sunčani Hvar back in 2006, we had half-board offers that were very cheap per person through agencies.
There also aren’t as many big tour operators today. Everything is done online. Tourists do their own research and don’t need agencies or operators as much.
And because nothing is state-owned, the prices are much higher, even in the winter.
Back in the 1980s, many hotels offered health tourism, spas, and indoor pools, allowing older travelers to visit here even when the weather wasn’t as nice. Today, we mainly have city hotels that do not have spas or facilities to accommodate winter tourism.
If flights were not the problem, does Split have a winter tourism offer, and if yes, what is it?
I feel bad for tourists that visit Split in the winter, especially now. The only real options are for visitors to have dinner then drinks in a half-empty bar. Guests ask us what they should do after dinner, and we honestly don’t know what to tell them.
The museums here are great and interesting for Croatian schoolkids needing to learn about the history of Croatia, but for international tourists, and even if I was a tourist here, there are no interactive museums where you could spend the day. When it comes to culture, we are also lacking in offering shows. HNK is amazing, but the program is mainly in Croatian, which doesn’t tempt tourists – especially when musicals or drama plays are in focus.
If I am on a city-break getaway with my husband, I would also want to go shopping, which is a huge problem here. My guests often ask where they can buy certain designer items. The people that come here are minimum middle to upper-class guests. They pay big money for their hotel room – around 300-400 euros. Most people on city-break trips travel without their kids – usually with their significant other or friends. This then targets travelers who want to go to a nice show, dinner, enjoy good cocktails, and maybe explore a museum. But they will also want to go shopping, and there isn’t a designer shopping offer in Split. This is a problem we need to start addressing now. The wealthy Russian tourist cannot buy their Chanel in Split but can elsewhere. They could go to Montenegro instead.
Istria already has a winter tourism offer, but Inland Dalmatia is not yet as developed. If you’re coming to Split for 3-4 days, wouldn’t you want to spend one day in nature with a local family that will serve you their homemade wines and products? Especially somewhere that is only a taxi ride away from Split? There are few places you can send tourists for that experience, and we see a lot of interest around this idea from our guests at Chops. We already have beautiful villas with pools in Imotski, but a nice family farm or winery where you can spend the day? Our current offer mainly targets Croatian families for a Sunday lunch. It’s not a Michelin-star experience, but it’s an authentic and local experience, and tourists would love it, too.
Are you aware of any initiatives to improve the winter tourism situation?
Only Paul and Total Croatia News, haha. I’ve been part of the tourism industry for a long time, and I don’t know of anything happening at the moment. Oh, but I do know that the Mall of Split bus is running from the ferry port!
Give us a few quick wins that could make Split a bit more attractive in the winter months?
Shopping, winery day trips from Split, contemporary/interactive art and museums, and shows. This is what I believe is most important for Split to offer in the winter. There also are not many destinations that offer both the beach and city-break getaways. Maybe Nice and Cannes if we are talking about cities comparable to Split. But what do they have? Shopping, art, and beautiful restaurants – but why? Because they have yachts. They have a similar climate, but it is not swimmable in the winter there either. Yacht owners, however, keep their yachts there in the winter. They check up on them and maintain them in the offseason. They know that bars and restaurants are open and that they can shop. Montenegro is starting to do the same thing. We have a lot of regular guests at Chops that live abroad but keep their yachts here in the winter, but what can we offer them? We also have an advantage compared to similar cities because these guests can easily fly into Split Airport, check on their yacht, and spend 2-3 days in Split. We need this tourism.
Are you planning an event(s) of your own soon?
On Saturday night we had a lot of reservations, due mainly to our Chopsylicious menu, which we have been doing for the last 7 years! Once we announced it this year, the interest was crazy. Everybody wants to try the menu, which is an excellent value for money. Diners can taste some of our products during the winter when they have more time. We have adjusted the menu to the season. For example, we are not selling the wagyu for 200 kuna. Instead, we changed the menu and are using it to test new dishes for next year. We are tracking what guests like and improving what is needed. When next season comes, we can introduce it to our menu. It’s a win-win situation. And guests who like the Chopsylicious menu revisit us in the summer or recommend us to friends and family!
Besides Chopsylicious, we host two music professors from the Josip Hatze school who play inside the restaurant every weekend. Paradiso will be bringing in some light live music from next weekend, and we will begin decorating for Christmas as part of our winter wonderland. We have done it already for two years, and it’s beautiful. This year we are going the extra mile to create a Christmas village. We will once again offer our breakfast sandwiches at Chops and Paradiso, so people will always have a place to eat and drink.
Will you close at all this year?
We always close from January 6 to March 1. It gives us a small break, but we also need to use the time to prepare for the season with renovations. We cannot preserve everything and need to repaint, repair the chairs, and the like. We also use this time to create the menu.
Back in 2020, we had plans to keep Chops open year-round. But, of course, the pandemic happened instead. That remains our ultimate goal, and I don’t think we would have much trouble doing business even in January and February.
When winter tourism is mentioned, many locals say that they do not want it, as they are tired after the busy season. What is your perspective as a successful business owner?
We want it! We do need a break; everyone needs a break. I know I do because I have never worked harder on the operational side of things than this summer. But I only need about 15 days. I get nervous after that, haha. I need to do something actively; I cannot just twiddle my thumbs at home and not work because we had a ‘successful season’. The Chopsylicious menu and our winter offer keep us busy, and I am happy we have that.
I would be terrified to close my doors for the entire winter. You cannot keep quality by doing that. Businesses that close in the winter also make the hospitality industry less desirable. It makes us a servant to our tourists. If you can work for an entire year, especially at a restaurant with a lot of business in the summer, and have good business throughout the winter with a year-round salary, then being a waiter is a beautiful job where you can support your family. Who wants to be a waiter only for 4 months? Then it’s just a student job.
We care about our suppliers a lot and try to find a lower-cost product in the winter than the premium products we offer in the summer. With our chefs and their innovation, we create affordable dishes that guests can enjoy in the offseason. For example, the tuna salad on the Chopsylicious menu uses lower-cost ingredients but looks beautiful. The most expensive part of that dish is that someone had to come up with it in their head. If I am looking at that as the owner, the cost of that dish is lower, but someone needs to think about how to create that using the products available. That is why I invest in my staff throughout the year, and that is how you can adapt your offer in the winter to make sense for your restaurant and your guests.
What are the key steps in your opinion to getting more flights in winter? (Optional)
The Marriott (which will open eventually), Le Meridien Lav, Radisson Blu, and Atrium offer over 1,000 hotel rooms combined. All of those hotels have a spa, which I’ve already mentioned is crucial for city-break destinations. That’s about 2,000 potential guests per day, offered beautiful hotels, great service and food, and indoor pools. If they all got together and spoke to a low-cost carrier about offering and filling these 1,000 rooms, that’s a solution. It could almost be some non-formal tour operator. Say, for example, you buy the flight from a low-cost carrier and are offered reasonable rates at these hotels. This is especially important on the weekends when there are no business people from Zagreb in Split. But I truly believe these hotels with indoor pools need to come together; that is the only way it will work. Think – 2,000 people per day is 14,000 potential tourists per week. Those guests will be able to visit the hotel spa and swim, have a nice dinner in town, go to a cocktail bar, and even go to Joker for shopping!
I would also try to create a promo video for tourists showing them exactly how their 4 days in Split would look, instead of just sharing Croatia’s most beautiful destinations from above, usually without people. You could create a beautiful ‘day-in-the-life’ type of promo video showing exactly what you can expect on your Split trip. We need to show tourists what they can do here and not just share aerial footage.
Message to other businesses in Split?
If you stay open in winter, the summer will be easier since you can keep your staff. You’ll offer better service, too. If you have both of those things, you’ll earn even more money. And if we are all open during the winter, buying from our suppliers won’t be as complicated!
Some businesses see each other as competition. If you have a city with many good restaurants, people visit for gastronomy, meaning they’ll choose a new restaurant every day. Having more quality restaurants means more business for everyone. This would also help us to be recognized as an excellent gastronomic destination. We all need to support each other. Why can’t other restaurants recreate the Chopsylicious idea? That is a wonderful idea, and it gives us more places to visit for dinner!
We also need to think about the minds of tourists and understand that they may not want to eat Dalmatian food every day of their trip. While local food should be enjoyed, it is impossible to expect that someone will eat grilled fish and blitva all the time. I know that when I am visiting Mexico, I cannot eat Mexican food every day. Sometimes you need a burger or pizza; comfort food that hits the spot and gives you a taste of home. And that is fine, too.
We offer eggs benedict on our breakfast menu and make the English muffins in-house because you cannot find them in Croatia. While we have to put in more work, knowing that our guests have that piece of familiarity is worth it. We also can’t expect that every tourist likes eating fish or can peel scampi! A lot of these experiences may be new to them. That’s why we should think about what tourists have available at home and try to recreate it in our way with traditional influences.
This is the direction we need to be going in. We should never lose our identity, but let’s celebrate international cuisine with a Dalmatian twist.
You can explore Chops HERE.
If you are a business in Split with a winter program, please contact [email protected] with the subject Split Winter Tourism.
